[Advaita-l] Isavasya Upanisad 9th Mantra

[Venkatesh Murthy via Advaita-l]

Namaste

But why Vidya Rataas will go to Greater Darkness? Adi Sankara has not
explained this.

There is a answer in Swami Nikhilananda's book. He is saying by following
Karma Marga alone we go to Pitru Loka and return back quickly after staying
there. But by Upaasana of Gods we go to Deva Loka and enjoy all pleasures
for a LONG time and then return back to this world. A person going to Pitru
Loka and coming back quickly will realize he is wasting time in Karma. But
the man going to Deva Loka will take a LONG time to realize same thing.
Swami Nikhilananda is saying Deva Loka is like going to Greater Darkness.

Man going and Pitru Loka and man going to Deva Loka are both making mistake
but man going to Deva Loka is making bigger mistake.

Is this explanation correct in Advaita circles? What is Anandagiri saying?
Does it mean it is better to follow Karma than Deva Upaasana?


On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 12:05 PM, V Subrahmanian
<v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>wrote:

>
>
>
> 2014-05-22 11:34 GMT+05:30 Venkatesh Murthy via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>:
>
> Namaste
>>
>> There was a discussion on Satya Darshana on this. I went to the new
>> Sringeri Sankara Bhashya site and searched.
>>
>> Below is the Sankara Bhashya
>>
>> अन्धं तमः प्रविशन्ति ये अविद्यामुपासते ।
>> ततो भूय इव ते तमो य उ विद्यायां रताः ॥ ९ ॥
>> भाष्यम्
>> अन्धं तमः अदर्शनात्मकं तमः प्रविशन्ति । के ? ये अविद्याम्, विद्याया अन्या
>> अविद्या कर्मेत्यर्थः, कर्मणो विद्याविरोधित्वात्,
>> तामविद्यामग्निहोत्रादिलक्षणामेव केवलाम् उपासते तत्पराः
>> सन्तोऽनुतिष्ठन्तीत्यभिप्रायः । ततः तस्मादन्धात्मकात्तमसः भूय इव बहुतरमेव
>> ते
>> तमः प्रविशन्ति । के ? कर्म हित्वा ये उ ये तु विद्यायामेव देवताज्ञाने एव
>> रताः अभिरताः ॥
>>
>> The question I have is why Adi Sankara has not explained why people
>> absorbed in meditation on gods go to Greater Darkness than people doing
>> Karma? Adi Sankara does not explain why.
>>
>
> If you read the bhāṣya portion just preceding the above quoted one, it
> will be seen:
>
> This mantra is to criticize the karma and upasana done without conjoining
> (smucchaya) them.  For karma and contemplation together alone is conducive
> to Self-knowledge and not otherwise.  So, with a view to enjoing samucchaya
> the Upanishad is taking the course of criticizing the karma and upasana
> done without samucchaya.
>
> This samucchaya is not the one Shankara has criticized elsewhere.  That
> samucchaya is the conjoining of atma jnana with karma which some vAdins
> think is enjoined by the Veda for moksha.  Shankara has shown that such
> samucchaya is impossible for the self knowledge is characterized by
> akartRtva jnana and karma is characterized by kriyā, kāraka, phala, kartā
> etc. duality/bheda jnana.  This bheda jnana cannot co-exist with
> abheda/akartṛtva jnana, says Shankara.
>
> I just added the above paragraph only to avoid readers bringing up the
> samucchaya that Shankara has criticized.  In the particular Isha mantra,
> the special type of samucchaya is required and to emphasize this, the
> mantra is criticizing the practice of vihita karma to the exclusion of
> upasana.  The  idea is; karma is for chitta shuddhi and upasana is for
> chittaigrAtA.  Both these are essential for self-knowledge to take roots in
> the sādhaka.
>
> regards
> subrahmanian.v
>
>>
>> On TV discussion the explanation was different. Avidya is Loukika Vidya
>> like Science, Engineering and others. Vidya is Bookish knowledge of
>> Brahma.
>> If you have only bookish knowledge of Brahma and no realization it is
>> worse
>> than having knowledge of Loukika Sastras like Science. With bookish
>> knowledge of Brahma you are making a big mistake thinking you know Brahma.
>> But you do not know.
>>
>> --
>> Regards
>>
>> -Venkatesh
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>
>


-- 
Regards

-Venkatesh